


A Friendly Bit of Sport

by Pearl_Pilots_In_Chains



Series: Of Tears and Ash [4]
Category: Hercules: The Legendary Journeys
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Banter, Gen, Racing, Ridiculous dialogue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-18
Updated: 2018-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:40:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25461076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pearl_Pilots_In_Chains/pseuds/Pearl_Pilots_In_Chains
Summary: Orestes spots a village ahead along the road, and Iphicles has an idea to make the remainder of their journey there more interesting.
Series: Of Tears and Ash [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1050806
Kudos: 8





	A Friendly Bit of Sport

The air was warm as Iphicles stared out across the sway of the hills, the boughs of the trees above him nudged to and fro by the caress of a pleasant breeze.The sunlight felt warm against the bare skin of his shoulders, where the leather of his vest fell away.His pace was a purposeful one, but not to the extent that it might be considered hasty.There was a measured, even, steady quality to it.As if each footfall was balanced, carefully weighed upon a scale to ensure that it might those which came both before and after, in order to achieve a sort of equality of movement.

His gaze sucked in the realm about him, like a river rushing to his eyes, pouring into his mind to fill an open vessel.The view was something akin to idyllic, verdant expressions of life in all its manifold forms easily found in every direction.It was the sort of pastoral scene that poets and philosophers alike relished, lavishing praise upon the virtues of natures, raising up all laud to the gods of the streams, and the woods, and the rolling fields in their lush abundance.While Iphicles was perhaps not as inclined to call up flower displays of gratitude and awe in such a manner himself, the sentiment was one which he could understand well enough.The glory of the land was not something which could go unrecognized, even if the wonder remained an unspoken thing.

“Say, Iphicles,” Orestes remarked cheerfully, “Is that a village I spy beyond that ridge some ways ahead of us?”

Iphicles peeled his eyes away from the sprawling vineyard which he had been inspecting from afar, and directed them instead back to the road and the world ahead.He found that Orestes was indeed correct.His eyes picked out the shape of human construction, roofs peeking up and above the rise, and few slight wisps of smoke curling in a heavenward path (perhaps from fires of a culinary nature, he thought happily, savoring the fantasy of fresh bread and warm stew).He quickened his pace accordingly, as he nodded to Orestes.“Indeed, my friend, I must say that you are undoubtedly correct.Perhaps a suggestion is in order then?What say you we make swift our feet, so that we may arrive at such an agreeable destination without delay?”

Iphicles noted that Orestes had already hastened his pace appropriately in order to match Iphicle’s own.“Ah, my companion, I believe that suggestion is one which I can only agree to most wholeheartedly.Let us not linger upon this dusty earth, packed firm beneath our feet for any longer than our path requires us to pass!”

“Excellent, excellent,” Iphicles opined approvingly.“Come then, we shall make some sport of it, shall we not?A fair spot of good-spirited competition is no doubt called for in a situation such as that in which we discover ourselves, is it not?”

“Competition you say?”Orestes inquired, a gleam of interest shining within the recesses of his orbs.“I ask, my friend, that you would enlighten me further as to the nature of that which you speak so slightly of.”

“Ah, gladly, gladly,” Iphicles obliged amiably.“I speak of a matching of strength of leg, you see.A race, even, so much as a casual match between companions might be deemed it.”

“Hmm, I see clear now that of which you speak my friend.A worthy bit of sport, I do not doubt it.And yet, I find myself with a further question still,” Orestes responded thoughtfully.

“A further question, you say?”Iphicles asked cooly.“What, pray tell, is the form which this inquiry might happen to take?I find that I am exceedingly curious as to its substance.”

“Fortune, my friend, favors you most marvelously,” Orestes began, “As that is a curiosity which should soon be sated without any great delay.”

“Well then,” encouraged Iphicles jovially, “Satiate my curiosity, companion of mine, that it might gnaw no further at the entrails of my mind, this mite which feasts about my brain like maggots in the flesh of the fallen.”

“Ah, what a shamelessly gruesome image you paint,” Orestes remarked, jest light upon his tongue.“Perhaps your enlighten must delay until you have learned to temper your speech with the spice of decency!”

Iphicles gave Orestes a firm, but not unfriendly, slap on the back.“Come now friend, leave me not within this purgatory within which I now wallow!I see the glow of the Elysian Fields near at hand, but I fear the tunnel grows further the longer that you sequester away your explanation.”

“Well, very well then,” Orestes said in mock sadness.“I suppose there is nothing which might be done to prolong that which is indubitably inevitable.”

“There is not,” Iphicles concurred with due confidence.“Now, out with it, out with it, lest we both rot away amidst this wait, interminable as it seems!”

“Well, as I think you should have fair cause to suspect, and am sorely sorrowed that you have not yet mentioned of your own account, my question is to the stakes of this match of sport which you propose.”

“Ah, you wish to know the extent of the stakes, and what is entailed within that matter, do you not?”

“You read me well friend,” Orestes confirmed with a laugh.“Now, quick, before I am forced to harangue you as you have harangued me so recently!”

“Ah, and if I dither with my response, what then, my friend?”Iphicles teased, pleased to play Ares’ advocate.

“If you dither,” Orestes warned playfully, “Then I will be left with no recourse but to compel thee most mightily: ‘out with it!Out with it!’Truly, such an exclamation would be an expression nothing short of truly horrible!You cannot tell me you doubt this, can you?”

“Ah, so you strike right for the heart of the matter then.I should expect nothing less.Very well then!Since you strike upon as being so eager to discover them, I envision the stakes as this: the one whose strength of leg brings him first to the village shall be the winner in all aspects of this affair.The one who lags behind and arrives second to the village, by however narrow a margin, shall be the loser in this affair.The loser shall then be obligated to purchase the winner the drink with which he might quench his thirst for the night.What say you to these terms?”

Orestes nodded in satisfaction.“These stakes are ones to which I will readily agree.I find the thought of mead in my belly, at the expense of your coin, to be a most pleasant future!Let us commence this competition without any further debating!”

“Very well!”Iphicles assented.“But, let me first warn you, do not fool yourself into thinking that you shall be the one who lightens my coin purse!I see it just as likely that I should lighten your purse!”

“Ha!I don’t fear such an outcome!”Orestes declared mirthfully.“Now, let us give a count to begin this match.You do the honors, my friend!”

“Gladly, gladly!”Iphicles consented.Clearing his throat and preparing his stance for the speed of a true run, he began the count.“Three, two, one!”

With that, they were off, speedily merrily along the road.The way was clear, and for the most part, a straight course with minimal winding.The fact that a good portion of it, once the ridge was crested, that was, was downhill, only served as an additional ‘bonus’ of sorts.The village approached quite rapidly, both of the men keeping up a expeditious spring, alacrity apparent in the graceful swing of their limbs.They ripped through the air, accelerating even further as they neared the village.Though their packs slapped heavy against their backs, they gave them no mind, their focus intent upon the quarry before them.It was fortunate that the road was not filled with much traffic at that moment, or else there would have been substantial obstacles in their path.As it was, they gave a good berth to the few travelers they passed, receiving only an odd glance or two in return.

At last, they neared what might be called a proper ‘entrance’ to the village: the first house of the village center.“And so we near the end,” Iphicles panted out, the bounce of the road traveling into his voice.

“Indeed we do!”Orestes agreed, before pushing his pace even faster.

Seeing that his companion, and rival in this matter, was about to win their little match, Iphicles attempted to quicken his pace so that it might surpass that of Oreste’s.Sadly, however, at least for his coin purse, it was not meant to be.Orestes shot past the house first, finally relaxing to a jog as he did so.Iphicles followed only moments later, but it was time enough to make the winner and loser in the contest readily apparent.

“You did well, my friend,” Orestes congratulated his competitor as the other man came up alongside him.“Though not well enough to save your purse, I’m afraid.”

“Ah well, so it goes, so it goes,” Iphicles remarked, clapping his friend upon the shoulder.“Perhaps next time, the game shall be mine.”All the same, he glanced ruefully down at the pouch in question.

“It is always possible,” Orestes agreed.As they continued to progress into town, he looked about, scrutinizing the village.“Now, where’s that inn?”Moments later, his eyes fell upon the object of his desire.“Ah, there it is!Come my friend, you have a mead to buy me!”

Chuckling, Iphicles headed alongside Orestes toward the inn.

**Author's Note:**

> This is another one of my HTLJ fics from 2018 (set in my "Of Tears and Ash" AU) that I never posted (not to AO3 anyway), but decided I might as well, considering the time I put into them. Once again, since I'm no longer really in the fandom, I'm backdating this to when I wrote it, so no one thinks I'm suddenly back into HTLJ.


End file.
